Football Week 7 Recap

New Albany 63, Franklin Heights 21

Eagles take care of Falcons, turn attention to Big Walnut

Enlarge ImageBuy This PhotoDave Yunker/ThisWeekFranklin Heights' Dayyon Huot works his way through the New Albany defense with the help of Tyler Dennis, left, and Marcus Knight, during a game at host New Albany on Oct. 7.

Coming off a loss a week ago, the New Albany High School football team regained its stride in a 63-21 win over visiting Franklin Heights on Friday, Oct. 7.

The Eagles needed less than a quarter to take control of the game against a Franklin Heights team that dressed only 18 players.

New Albany had three rushing touchdowns, a passing touchdown and an interception return to take a 35-0 lead after the first quarter.

“I like the way we came out and played at the beginning of the game,” said New Albany coach Mark Mueller, whose team improved to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the OCC-Capital Division.

For the Eagles, it was important to come out and play well after a 32-7 loss to Olentangy Orange on Sept. 30.

New Albany's Darron Lee sparked the route with a 77-yard interception return for a touchdown. The extra point made it 21-0 with 7 minutes, 2 seconds left in the first quarter. Also in the quarter, Zach Tomi had a 34-yard touchdown pass to Adam Bodrick and Kevin Collins had a 34-yard touchdown run.

With less than a minute to go in the first quarter, Dan Brittan scored on an 18-yard touchdown run on the way to a 35-0 lead. Hayden George opened the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run on New Albany's first possession.

“We just wanted to make sure we got better,” said Brittan, who rushed six times for 133 yards and a touchdown in the first half.

Franklin Heights scored right before halftime on an 80-yard kickoff return by Sam Reed. The extra point by Angel Juarez made it 56-14.

The Falcons, who dropped to 1-6 and 0-3, also had an eight-play, 60-yard drive that was capped by a 35-yard touchdown run by John Pyles. The extra point made it 35-7 with 6:44 left in the second quarter.

After the win, New Albany quickly turned its attention to its next opponent, Big Walnut. A win over the Golden Eagles would bring New Albany into a tie for first in the OCC-Capital. Big Walnut improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the OCC-Capital after defeating Delaware 42-13 on Oct. 7.

“It's really going to be really big,” Brittan said of playing at Big Walnut. “We're playing for first in the OCC-Capital for the third year in a row.”